News, insights and resources for parents of kids with autism spectrum disorders

Monday, February 18, 2008

Special Series of Articles for Parents, Families New to Autism Diagnosis

BabyZone.com, a website for parents of young children, has just published a four-article series I wrote to help parents and families who are new to autism spectrum disorders—what autism is, what it means for their families, how to find ways to help their children. You can find the links to all four articles below:

What to Do When Your Child Gets an Autism Diagnosis When your child receives an autism diagnosis, there are many more questions than answers about what it means and what you need to do. Here's how to start the effort to help your child grow and develop—and how to make sure you take care of everyone in your family (yourself included). More

Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorders Experts like to point out that no two children with autism are quite alike. While that lack of clarity can be frustrating for parents, it demonstrates that researchers and doctors continue to refine their understanding of autism. Here is brief description of the places on the autism spectrum. More

Because autism is a serious disability, and early intervention so important, families tend to do as much for their diagnosed children as they can fit into their lives and budgets. Here is a guide to the most well-known treatments and techniques for helping young children with autism make developmental gains, along with advice for evaluating these approaches and resources to find more information. More

What a great idea to share those articles and such important information in the babyzone community. My name is Shannon Johnson. I am the proud and exhausted parent of a 12 year old on the spectrum. I also founded a community called Foggyrock.com for families like mine living with autism. I would love the opportunity to share your articles with my community as well. Please check us out and let me know if you would be willing to give permission to post them. Cheers-Shannon Johnsonwww.foggyrock.com

Michael, I just wanted to drop you a comment here to tell you how helpful this and many others of your posts have been. We are just starting out on the autism journey and your site has really helped us get our bearings and start understanding this whole new world we've just become a part of. I have spent hours on your site and will likely spend many more. Thank you so much.

Mr Goldberg, I checked the link that you presented about chelation and here is what I found:"AutismBased on the speculation that heavy metal poisoning may trigger the symptoms of autism, some parents have turned to alternative medicine practitioners who provide chelation therapy. However, the only evidence to support this belief is anecdotal. There is strong epidemiological evidence that refutes links between environmental triggers, in particular thimerosal-containing vaccines, and the onset of autistic symptoms. No scientific data supports the claim that the mercury in the vaccine preservative thiomersal causes autism[8] or its symptoms,[9] and there is no scientific support for chelation therapy as a treatment for autism.[10][11]"

This is not helping any autistic children by linking to this nonsense. Chelation is the ONLY treatment that has ever cured an autistic child. All of the other junk your link discusses is an exercise in futility that is left over from before we learned that thimerosal is the leading cause of autism.

The people who try to deny this fact are associated with the industry that never tested thimerosal for safety and caused the autism epidemic.

Should you listen to parents who have helped their kids with chelation or should you listen to the industry that caused the problem. That's what you should be asking yourself, Mr Goldberg.